Sunset
by Random1377
Summary: Just a short oneshot set around volume 12 or 13.  Mostly revolves around Kitsune and her thoughts about Keitaro.


Disclaimer: _Love Hina_ is owned by Ken Akamatsu, not me. Should he, or any of his associates ask, this story will be removed from the web immediately.

Sunset

By Random1377

Kitsune stretched languidly as she wandered onto the roof, aware – as she always was – of the way her flat stomach peeked out from under her shirt and how her breasts pressed invitingly forward, drawing attention to the shape of her body in ways that the younger residents of the Hinata could only dream. Her attributes had caused more than one man in her past to give in to temptation and sputter awkward declarations of love and devotion, so Kitsune knew full well what her physique was capable of getting her.

She was a sexual creature, when she wanted to be, and had the lingerie collection and Little Black Book to prove it. If she wanted physical gratification, she knew how to get it, not that she sought it very often of course, for in spite of her boisterousness and bold attitude, she wanted very much to be a good girl.

It was just that on a handful of occasions, she had failed, rather spectacularly, to uphold the ideal.

And there, on that very rooftop, was the one man for whom she would have been as good as an angel, or as wicked as the devil himself. Keitaro Urashima seemed completely oblivious to her presence as he reclined in a folding deck chair and stared up at the clear blue summer sky, giving her the chance to study him for a few moments in absolute silence.

He had grown more attractive since his trip to America, there was no doubt about that, and if Kitsune thought very hard, she could _almost_ pinpoint the exact moment that her mild attraction towards him had deepened into something more feral and aching. To say she wanted him would be more than fair, though to say she was having more and more trouble containing herself would probably be more accurate.

Had she not been friends with Naru so long, she would have simply scratched the itch and got things over with. Anyone who knew her drinking habits knew that self-denial was not her strong suit, and when she was, as the old saying goes, in her cups, she had been sorely tempted on more than one occasion to simply drag Keitaro into her room and have her way with him – friendship be damned.

That particular day, however, Kitsune was sober and clearheaded.

Which is not to say she was not above a little teasing.

"Keitarrrrrrroooo," she crooned, slinking across the rooftop until she had reached his side. "I've been looking all over for you. It's not nice to leave a girl wanting, you know – hasn't Naru taught you that yet?"

It still irked her a bit how easy it was for Naru to influence Keitaro. All Naru had to do was stub a toe or pout a little, and Keitaro came running, bumbling, and tripping all over himself to prostrate himself in front of her and make everything ok.

_And she hasn't even said 'I love you,' back, yet,_ Kitsune thought disgustedly. _God, if it was her in front of you, you'd say something, damn it!_

Keitaro had not, in fact, said a word since Kitsune had arrived – a fact that miffed her to no end.

"What do you think of my new shirt?" she asked, leaning forward and putting her hands on her knees to accentuate her cleavage. "Naru says it's a little too daring, but I like it… don't you?"

Nodding absently, Keitaro continued to look to the horizon. "Mmm… hmm…"

Kitsune withheld a scowl.

"Does it go well with this bra?" she continued, leaning closer to cut off his line of view. "Or should I wear the blue one instead?"

She frowned as she noticed that Keitaro was not actually looking at her… or the horizon. His eyes were unfocused, as though in a trance.

"Hey," she said nonchalantly, "do you like my hair? I know green is a bit unusual, but I think it suits me, don't you?"

Keitaro continued to stare off into space for several moments before finally blinking and looking at her face. He gave her a guilty smile as he said, "What was that? Sorry, I wasn't listening…"

"Never mind," Kitsune sighed, straightening and putting her hands on her hips.

Frowning as he took a sip of his soda, Kitsune pondered the situation. _Ok, usually a little flash of skin gets him all worked up… so what gives?_

"Oh," Keitaro said suddenly, "here, take my seat."

"No," Kitsune countered, "really, it's ok, I don't mind standing."

But Keitaro was already getting off of the chair.

_Here it comes,_ Kitsune thought, bracing herself to be groped.

It never failed – if there was anything that required coordination, Keitaro invariably ended up turning it into a fondling or panty-flashing experience. Kitsune, unlike Naru and Motoko, never even considered that it was deliberate, and (considering her growing attraction to Keitaro) made fewer and fewer complaints.

She had even – once or twice – deliberately placed things in his path and arranged to be there when he fell. This tactic was a bit desperate, she mused as Keitaro swung one leg off the chair and started to rise, but she couldn't very well say, 'Hey, let's go to my room,' when he was so hung up on her best friend, so Kitsune took the contact where she could.

To her surprise, however, Keitaro made it to his feet without incident, and even offered her a hand in getting situated on the comfortable deck chair. The last time she had seen him so focused, he had been working on a rather complicated math problem.

_That's it,_ she thought, seizing on this idea.

"Hey Keitaro," she asked casually, "how are classes going?"

"Hmm?" Keitaro hummed, sitting on the rooftop next to the chair and setting his drink at his side. "Oh, fine, I guess. I haven't really done a lot at school yet, since I just got back…"

Unable to handle the suspense, Kitsune suddenly blurted, "Ok, I give up… what's the matter?"

Keitaro glanced at her questioningly. "Nothing," he said, clearly confused. "Nothing at all… everything's really good."

Kitsune bit her bottom lip, hesitating for a long moment before abruptly saying, "You look really down."

"Do I?"

He looked so genuinely surprised that Kitsune nearly laughed. "Well, you look like you've got something on your mind," she said awkwardly. "Sorry, I can go if I'm bothering you."

The amorous feelings Kitsune had been indulging since arriving on the roof had cooled considerably, allowing her more of a chance to truly see the young Tokyo U student… and what she saw was quite disturbing. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were only half open, hinting that he had not been sleeping very well, and what she had mistaken for a can of soda was really something entirely different.

"Is that… a beer?"

"Yeah," Keitaro said, holding up the can and examining it for a minute. "I went out and bought a six-pack, but I don't know why… I don't even like them."

As if to illustrate this point, he set the can at his side and pushed it away from him.

Kitsune's sense of disquiet was growing.

"What's wrong?" she asked, turning to face him and leaning forward earnestly with her elbows on her knees. "Keitaro… what's going on?"

Staring up at the sky, Keitaro slowly shook his head. "…nothing."

But Kitsune was not to be deterred. "Did you have a fight with Naru or something?" she asked tentatively. "I won't tell her you told me, if that's what it is."

"It's nothing like that," Keitaro said softly. "Really, Mitsune, it's nothing… nothing at all…"

_Mitsune,_ Kitsune thought suddenly. _You haven't called me that for two years…_

Slowly, she leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes, thinking over the past few weeks in minute detail. Keitaro had returned, and a lot of things had happened, and at the end of it all, he and Naru had become a couple… hadn't they?

_Where is Naru, anyway?_

Kitsune opened her eyes, reassessing Keitaro as he rolled the beer can between his palms. He looked tired, she decided, but not really unhappy – and not knowing why was really starting to get under her skin.

"I hate seeing you like this."

Keitaro looked up in surprise, though the shock on his face was nothing compared to the shock Kitsune felt at her sudden, harshly spoken outburst.

"You… huh?"

_No backing down now,_ Kitsune thought, quickly wetting her lips.

"I… you should smile," she said, scrubbing a hand through her hair in frustration as she tried to grasp her slippery, confused thoughts. "Looking sad doesn't suit you. I like you better when you're happy."

She blushed as Keitaro stared at her, but when she opened her mouth to tell him to just forget it, nothing came out.

Why retract an honest comment?

After several painfully awkward moments of silence, Keitaro mumbled, "It's almost sunset… I should go see if Shinobu needs any help making dinner."

As he rose to his feet and started towards the stairs, however, Kitsune found her hand moving of its own accord, capturing his wrist as he passed by and drawing a gasp of shock from him as he cast a sharp look in her direction. They stayed that way for several minutes, saying nothing as Kitsune stared at the ground and Keitaro waited for some type of explanation for her action.

"I like you better when you're happy."

Keitaro gently pulled his arm away, but instead of leaving he simply turned around so he was facing the same way as Kitsune. "It's kind of a strange time of day, isn't it?" he said hesitantly. "The clouds are all red, and the sun's not really up anymore, but the moon isn't out yet…"

Kitsune looked up at the sky. "I don't… I don't follow you," she admitted, uncomfortably aware of how things must look to him.

_God, it looks like I want to confess._

She shook off this thought as Keitaro took a deep breath and said, "Sometimes I get caught up in looking at the sky, like everything's ending, but starting at the same time… does that make sense? The sun is going down, but the moon will come up in a while, and then it'll all start over again."

"When did you get all philosophical?" Kitsune mumbled, rubbing her temples in a pained fashion. "Yeah, I get it… one thing ends, another begins – circle of life, right? That's why you're up here?"

Keitaro shook his head. "Nah," he said lightly. "I was just wishing that some days shouldn't have to end."

Giving him a ghost of a smile, Kitsune said, "So what happened today that was so good?"

"Naru told me she loved me."

Kitsune felt like she had been hit with a sledgehammer. "She… oh, well, that's great then, congratulations…"

_Get a hold of yourself,_ she thought brutally, putting a hand on her stomach as it inexplicably filled with ice. _She was always the one he was going to choose – I've known that since the first week he lived here! Man, I should just-_

"It didn't feel like I thought it would," Keitaro said thoughtfully, cutting into Kitsune's introspection. "I just… I wanted today to last longer so I could think about it."

"What do you mean it didn't feel like you thought it would?" Kitsune wondered.

Keitaro slowly sank back down next to the seat, planting his hands behind him on the rooftop and looking up at a passing cloud. "I'm not really sure," he confessed. "I always thought… I don't know, I thought it would be like magic when she said it, you know – like it would make my life complete." His lips curled up in a rueful smile. "It did feel good," he whispered, "just like it felt good when Motoko said it a couple weeks ago… but it didn't feel _better_ than that, and I kind of, well, I kind of thought it would…"

Kitsune digested this.

"So," she said finally, "you… don't know if you love Naru or Motoko, or… something…?"

She trailed off in confusion. _I don't get it,_ she thought tiredly. _You got what you wanted, Keitaro, why analyze it?_

"No," Keitaro replied immediately, "I know I love both of them, I just don't know if I'm _in_ love wi-"

He cut himself off, blushing terribly as he rose to his feet.

"I sh-should check on dinner," he stammered, "Shinobu's probably up to her elbows in-"

Kitsune's warm hand slipped gently into his, cutting him off as effectively as if she had slapped him.

"You don't know if you're in love with either one of them."

"…yeah."

Slowly, keeping his hand tightly clasped in hers, Kitsune rose to her feet and stood in front of Keitaro, waiting until he reluctantly looked into her eyes before whispering, "Get a goddamn hold on yourself."

"Wh-what…?"

"I love you," Kitsune said simply. "How does that feel?"

Keitaro shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, but could not meet Kitsune's eyes. "I, umm… Kitsune, I…"

"If it didn't feel any different than when she said it, then screw it – be my boyfriend."

"I-I can't do that!" Keitaro gasped.

"Why?" Kitsune demanded. "If you're not sure that you're in love with her, why not play the field a bit, hmm?" Abruptly, she pulled him into her arms, pressing her body up against his as she gave him a sultry, seductive smile. "And with me," she breathed, "you _know_… what you're getting…"

Keitaro squirmed, pulling back with a face as red as a tomato as he blurted, "I c-can't!"

Kitsune put her hands on his face, holding him firmly as he tried to break free. "You can't because you love her," she said softly, holding his eyes with hers as he stared at her with undisguised wonder. "Don't run now, Keitaro," she whispered. "Don't run, don't avoid her, and don't even hint that you're scared, or you'll lose her, do you understand? I've known Naru for years, and I'll tell you right now that if she sees that, you'll never get close to her again – ever."

After a moment of intense silence, Keitaro slowly nodded.

"Go find her," Kitsune instructed, letting her hands fall to her sides. "Tell her you love her, even if you already said it today – make sure she knows it." When he hesitated, she put a hand on his chest and gave him a hard push. "Go!"

"R-right!"

Kitsune watched him rush down the stairs, then, letting out a huge sigh, she sank back into the seat and put her head in her hands. "Idiot," she whispered. "Good God I am such an idiot… that was my chance…!"

Scrubbing one hand through her hair, she reached down and scooped up Keitaro's abandoned beer.

"Well," she muttered, "at least I'm not the only idiot around here." She lifted the beer to her lips, smiling faintly as she mused, "Maybe she'll mess up next time and I just… won't have any advice to give her… yeah…"

Her smile faded as the most honest part of her mind countered, _Yes_ _you will…_

"Oh, shut up…"

Closing her eyes, she upended the can.

The End

Notes: Hawker-748 pre-read and helped me make a few corrections.


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